The Day The Music Died
by GeneaLady
Summary: How will the Ricardo family cope when everything changes, literally, overnight? Post-series fic. NOT a part of the canon in my I Love Lucy world. WARNING: Later chapters rated M for a detailed love scene, major character death, and suicidal thoughts.


**_Author's Note: This fic comes from a very odd conversation with 4luv4evr428. My plot bunnies must have been eavesdropping, because they just wouldn't let it go, so here it is. Please be aware of the warning in the plot summary and take it very seriously. While this story does reference some details from my other fics, this fic is NOT canon with my ILL world. 4luv4evr428's The End of a Love (Parts 1 & 2) is. Amy & Maria will make an appearance in the canon of my ILL world, but in a different time frame. I only own Amy, Maria, Raquel, and Dr. Gehrke. All other characters are owned by CBS and/or their families. While Desi Arnaz Jr. does have a wife named Amy, I do not know enough about her to use real life details, so she is an OC. I do; however, use that name with deepest respect for Mrs. Arnaz, and my prayers go out to Amy, Desi, and their family as she undergoes treatment for brain cancer._**

* * *

Lucy huffed as she pulled the arroz con pollo out of the oven. She hadn't been feeling well all afternoon, but she was determined to make this dinner perfect. After all, it wasn't often that both of her Rickys were home for dinner anymore. Lucy loved Rick's wife Amy and, of course, their precious four year-old daughter Maria (although she was less than pleased they'd burdened her with her middle name of Henrietta), but there was something to be said about just having the three together for dinner. She was thankful Rick had decided to spend the night while Amy and Maria were in Albany for her meeting with her publisher. Setting the baking dish on the table, she smiled. Everything was indeed perfect, and just in time, as Lucy heard two pair of feet enter the front door.

* * *

"Hi, Mom!" Rick greeted his mother as she came out of the kitchen.

"Hi, dear," Lucy said, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "How was rehearsal?"

"It was good," Rick said. "The show's coming along well. You'll have to come to opening night next week."

"Don't I always?" Lucy asked in mock offense that Rick would even dare to think any different.

"Of course you do," he smiled.

It was true that she and Ricky were at the club a lot less now that Ricky was Rick's business manager rather than performing himself, but they never missed one of Rick's opening nights.

"Hey, what about me?" Ricky asked, having not gotten his welcome.

"Sorry, honey," Lucy laughed before kissing him softly. "But you aren't gone every night anymore. Rick doesn't come home often."

"But without me, there'd be no him," Ricky pointed out with a chuckle.

"Very true," she whispered seductively before kissing him again, this time much more passionately, her tongue slipping in his mouth to dance with his.

"Ok, ok. Before you two recount, or worse- re-enact, the night I was conceived... could we please have dinner?" Rick playfully rolled his eyes.

Ricky laughed, but soon sobered when he noticed his wife's flushed and haggard appearance. "Honey, are you ok?" he asked, concerned.

"Of course," she lied. "I've just been slaving over dinner all afternoon and just had my head in a hot oven. Come on, your son wants to eat."

* * *

"You made our favorite!" Rick exclaimed as they made their way into the kitchen.

Lucy smiled. She loved the fact that Rick embraced the Cuban in him in every way and enjoyed arroz con pollo with black bean and grilled corn salad as much as his father did.

"Of course! What else would I have made with my two Rickys home?" Lucy replied.

Once the family had sat, Ricky bowed his head and lead his family in grace. Now that Rick was older, he understood his father's prayer, but Lucy never felt left out. She knew that Spanish was the language of Ricky's heart and that was all that mattered.

"Save room for dessert, you two," Lucy said, standing as the main meal was winding down.

"Mango mousse!" The men exclaimed simultaneously, causing Lucy to laugh.

"And..." Lucy said, placing a pot of Cuban coffee down on the table next to the mousse.

"Oh, Mom! You made Cuban coffee- you're the best!" Rick exclaimed happily.

"I'm glad that's solely based on what I make for dinner," Lucy joked, kissing him on the cheek.

"Mom, can you please make a copy of the recipe for Amy?" Rick asked, digging into the mousse.

"Ask your father, he's the one that taught me how to make it," Lucy replied, taking a bit of her own mousse.

Rick looked at his father wordlessly, clearly impressed.

"This meal was the first meal your father made me," Lucy said, locking eyes with her husband as they both remembered that night.

"So that's why we had it so often," Rick chuckled.

"Well, it's better than the first meal you made me," Ricky laughed.

Lucy chuckled, remembering how her plans for a romantic lunch had been ruined by Josephine.

Rick looked at his parents puzzled.

"Don't worry about it, son, it ended well. Her second attempt turned out much better," Ricky assured his son, remembering how she'd returned the next day, and they enjoyed a romantic picnic on the roof.

Rick chuckled. It sounded like an interesting story, but he wasn't going to pry.

"Honey, why dun't you go in the livingroom an' rest for a while," Ricky suggested when the meal was done, noticing that Lucy still looked tired. "Rick an' I will take care a the dishes."

"Honey, we can't ask him to do that. He's a guest tonight," Lucy objected.

"Oh come on, Mom. This'll make up for all those nights I complained when you told me to do them," Rick said, trying to convince her.

"Oh, alright," Lucy conceeded, before kissing both their cheeks and heading into the livingroom.

* * *

"Hijo, do ya think your mother's ok?" Ricky asked his son worriedly as soon as Lucy was out of ear shot.

"Sure, Dad." Rick assured him. "She said she was. This was a big meal. She probably was just rushing to get things ready. You know how she's always running late."

"You're probably right," Rick said, returning to the dishes.

* * *

Once out of the kitchen, Lucy made her way to the couch and put her feet up. She was hoping that having dinner with her husband and son would make her feel better, but it hadn't. She couldn't figure out why she felt so weak and out of breath. She was definitely looking forward to a quiet night at home with Ricky, if she could keep him from picking up on how poorly she felt.

* * *

"Dishes are done, Mom," Rick said as the two men walked out of the kitchen.

"Thank you," Lucy said, standing to greet them. "You really didn't have to do that."

"No problem," he shrugged it off.

"Feelin' better honey?" Ricky asked.

"I'm fine," Lucy tried to assure him.

"See, Dad," Rick piped up. "Told you she was fine."

Lucy turned her head and playfully glared at her husband.

"Ok, so I'm busted," Ricky laughed. "I jus' worry 'bout you."

"Well, I gotta run," Rick said. "Don't wait up for me."

"Break an arm, hijo," Ricky said, causing Lucy and Rick to roar with laughter.

"Have a good show, dear. I love you," Lucy said, pulling her son into a tight hug.

"Thanks, Mom. I love you, too," Rick replied, kissing her cheek.

For a split second, a feeling came over Rick that he didn't want to let his mom go. Shaking it off, he clapped his father on the shoulder and walked out the door to catch the train back to the city.


End file.
